


Ink Stains

by ColourOfNight



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Beel is a Sweetheart, Broken Bones, Disabled Character, Epilepsy, Kidnapping, Lucifer Sighing, Major Character Injury, Medication, Medicinal Drug Use, Multi, No Mummies Are Harmed, Self-Medication, Someone Gets Kicked In The Nads, Someone fucked up, Sorcerers, Soulmates, Swearing, Threats, Warlocks, Witches, Wizards, and more!, established soulmates, migraines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:59:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29358357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColourOfNight/pseuds/ColourOfNight
Summary: Or, "I was kidnapped by hot demons who broke my legs then made me attend their school because they can't send me back for some reason, FML."** **The men in the room were understandably surprised when instead of just appearing in the council chamber, the person they summoned dropped from the ceiling with a torrent of water and debris.As she landed, there was a crunch, despite her apparent efforts to roll into it. Nobody moved, even as she laid on the floor.A single expletive rang out from someone. Followed by coughing. Slowly, she sat up, wincing a little as she moved her legs and started to take in her surroundings."Welcome to the-" Her eyes widened as she realised a little more of the situation."Fuuuuuuck…" She passed out, slumping sideways.A bloom of red began to reveal itself against the white of her dress, spilling out onto the floor. And that was when the panic started.
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Barbatos (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Main Character, Barbatos (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Original Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub/Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Beelzebub/Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Diavolo (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Diavolo (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Luke & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character & Simeon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character & Solomon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Original Characters - Relationship, Original Characters / Original Characters, Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Main Character, Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dossing off my main fanfic with... another fanfic. From a completely different fandom!
> 
> There is a reason I started writing an Obey Me fic, and it'll be a lot clearer after this fic gets underway, honest.

"Ok, that should do it for this shoot! Time to get you out of there." The mass of fabric and flowers in the water sighed.

"Yeah, but the cold water feels great after that trek here, Lexie." The man behind the camera laughed, despite her mild frown. "I'll probably need another cold soak when I get back, and probably still be laid up for a couple of days. If I don't get a-"

"Just like a kid and baths. Don't want to get in, and then don't want to get out." He sighed. "I really do appreciate you doing this for me, Fifi." He aimed the camera again at her, and she scowled. 

"Hey, I thought you said-"

"You, in a wet white dress and getting out of the river will make for the best extra footage."

"...pervert." He just grinned. 

As she moved to get out the water, he started to record. As she stood up in the shallow stream, he moved closer, hoping to catch some saucy details.

Instead, he caught the sight of the stream bottom dropping down, taking her with it.

"Alex!" The horror on her face would be etched into his mind for a long time.

"Ophelia!" He lunged for her hand, barely brushing her fingers as it slipped into the water. The stream returned to being shallow once more.

** **

The men in the room were understandably surprised when instead of just appearing in the council chamber, the person they summoned dropped from the ceiling with a torrent of water and debris.

As she landed, there was a crunch, despite her apparent efforts to roll into it. Nobody moved, even as she laid on the floor.

A single expletive rang out from someone. Followed by coughing. Slowly, she sat up, wincing a little as she moved her legs and started to take in her surroundings.

"Welcome to the-" Her eyes widened as she realised a little more of the situation.

"Fuuuuuuck…" She passed out, slumping sideways.

A bloom of red began to reveal itself against the white of her dress, spilling out onto the floor. And that was when the panic started.

** **

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The room was pale, bright, and… there was a mild smell of disinfectant in the air. As she fully came to, she noticed that she was in a bed that was surrounded by a curtain. She had been propped up in the bed to a sitting up position, thankfully. 

Two oddly shaped figures were standing outside the curtain, obviously between the curtain and a light source. 

"My Lord," a feminine voice said, "despite the injuries from the accident, she will otherwise be fine. That isn't blood on her dress." A masculine voice sighed.

"Is there much you can do?" His voice was smooth, but it sounded tired.

"It's easily healed, but she is human, and will need to take it easy for a few days. I think I need to get a better medical history from her, though." One of the figures seemed to shake their head. "I think she'll need crutches. But it looks like she's used to using them on a daily basis, if her hands are anything to go by."

"And what do you make of the pills found?"

"Oh, I haven't had time to examine them yet. It might be quicker to just ask her, my Lord." There was a tense silence. 

Ophelia decided to break it, shutting her eyes and groaning slightly. When she heard the curtain being drawn back, she opened her eyes slightly and looked at both of the people who had just entered the curtained area.

One seemed like an ordinary guy, handsome to a painful degree… the other was not. More lizard-like than human, with colourful neck fins that seemed to shift colours. In the corner of her eye, the supposedly normal looking guy looked like he had black wings. Ophelia couldn't keep her eyes on either one for more than half a second, flicking between the two. She decided to stare down at her legs before she felt dizzy. 

Her ankles started throbbing.

"Sweetie," the lizard-person said with a feminine voice, "Do you know where you are?" Ophelia shook her head.

"...where… Alex? Alex!" The two people looked at each other. Ophelia went to swing her legs out of the bed. "Where is he? I've got to let him-" The lizard-person gently put a claw-like hand on her legs, but the little pressure made her wince with the shot of pain.

"You've broken both ankles, I'm afraid, and your shins don't look much better." The lizard-person smiled. "My name is Gaap, and I am the acting doctor here at RAD. But please don’t call me Doctor, I haven’t-" Ophelia must have made a strange expression because Gaap furrowed their brows. They turned to the man. "My Lord, did you not-"

"...we had yet to explain." He was clearly appraising Ophelia, who frowned. He sighed. "My name is Lucifer. You have been summoned…"

Ten minutes in, Gaap excused themselves. A half-hour later, Lucifer was still going, and Ophelia held up a hand to stop him.

"Please… This is all very hard to believe."

"Do not-"

"Excuse my humanity in this situation when I very openly say - What. The. Fuck." There was a quiet, repressed snicker from the other side of the curtain. Before he could recover from his shock, she continued. "Seriously. The only thing that lends any credibility to this whole story is that my ankles are swollen as fuck and it hurts to even try and twitch my toes. So all this-" Lucifer suddenly turned purple, and let himself slip into his demon form. She couldn't finish her sentence.

"Seeing is believing, I suppose." Ophelia frowned.

"Seeing is not always believing." She reached down for her belt pouch and paled when she couldn't find it. As a distraction, Lucifer batted her foot with his wing. Her eyes went wide.

"Then is feeling it-" She grabbed one of his other wings, much to his dismay. 

"I hope I'm not allergic to your wing dander," she murmured, reaching into the feathery depths. He grabbed her wrist just as a finger touched the base of a feather. Looking down at her with a dark smile, she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable. "S-sorry, but I had to know-"

"Now do you believe me?" His grip on her wrist tightened slightly, but he returned to the more human form. She sighed.

"About you not being human? Sure. But the rest of it is still bonkers." Lucifer's lips tightened into a thin line, and Ophelia shook her head. "So, after being kidnapped, I have to go to demon school-"

"RAD."

"-whilst making my soul shiny and keeping said soul from being eaten." She looked him in the eyes. "You probably should have picked another human. Not a crippled one."

"But we didn't. We selected you."

"Then you are either idiots or assholes. Probably both." She huffed. "Seriously. If you had information about me, then you should have known that I am-"

"-perfectly capable of surviving down here," Gaap explained as they drew the curtain aside. "I assure you that there are ways and means around your… disabilities." Gaap glared at Lucifer briefly before continuing. He let go of her wrist. "Perhaps we should go through what you can remember of your medical history. Privately."

"Very well. I shall inform Lord Diavolo that she is awake." Lucifer walked out without a backwards glance. A few moments passed before Gaap spoke.

"Don't mind that old bird. He's just upset that they messed up and made Prince Diavolo look bad. Now, about your disabilities…"

** **

Lucifer exited the medical room quickly. He strode down the corridors, lesser demons leaping out of his way. Although he could have texted Diavolo on his DDD, Lucifer decided that it was better to just walk. If only for a chance to cool off. She'd touched a very sensitive spot and stirred inappropriate feelings up. He hoped she hadn't noticed.

Sticking his head into the Student Council room, he found it was empty, save for a few discarded flowers from her hair and a small patch of red on the floor. No doubt Barbatos had assessed the stain and was gathering materials to clean it properly. Either that or he was needed by Diavolo for something and had decided it could wait.

It was as he turned around that Lucifer noticed a fuss down the hallway, and went to investigate. 

"Oi oi! No crowding! You can all see what The Great Mammon has in his hands…" There were lesser demons around Mammon, who was inevitably up to no good. From where he stood, with his height advantage, he could see Mammon was holding a dun leather pouch that clearly had red stains on it.

"MAAAAAAMMMOOOOOOOOOOONNN!"

"Eep!" The lesser demons scattered. "Y-yo…"

"Why do you have a blood-stained pouch?"

"I- Er- Well, I found it, and-"

"And…?"

"I had ta try and work out whose-"

"Did you forget that you were meant to be at the Council Chambers an hour ago…?"

"That's why I was here!" Mammon looked flustered at Lucifer's bad mood.

"Late."

"...so where's the human?"

Mammon found himself strung up before he could process anything.

"The human is currently in the medical room. It will be up to you to make sure she remains safe for the year." Shaking his head, Lucifer continued. "For the next three days, you are to help her with anything and everything she may need. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear! ...So where is she now?"

"...the Medical Room."

"The fuck happened already?" Lucifer sighed. 

"Bring Ophelia to The House of Lamentation and make sure she meets everyone. I will speak to her when I finish up here. Gaap will explain more."

Lucifer walked away. Mammon was just about to protest when the bindings gave way, and he landed awkwardly. The pouch was gone.

Dusting himself off, he sauntered to the Medical Room, cursing quietly under his breath. Why did he have to look after the human? He got there before he knew it.

"None. Until tomorrow at least." Doctor Gaap. 

"...at all?" An unfamiliar female voice, with hints of worry.

"That potion only accelerates the healing process. You still have to treat it as an ordinary injury until it heals, Ophelia."

"Ah." A small, nervous chuckle. "I guess that's alright, then. But-"

"Oh, I'm sure Lord Lucifer will send one of his brothers to look after you."

Mammon took this as his cue, striding in with a grin. Two pairs of eyes looked his way. The human was appraising him like he would a fine gemstone, in his opinion. He was certainly doing the same.

"The Great Mammon is here! You should be honoured, that I have given my time to-" Gaap rolled their eyes. It wasn't lost on Ophelia, who chuckled. 

"Oh Great and Merciful, Magnanimous and Generous Mammon," she started, noting his pleased reaction, "I am honoured to be in your capable hands?" She looked at Gaap questioningly. The doctor smiled a little. 

"Gimme all your valuables for safekeeping, and-"

"Don't listen to that part, sweetie. He's the Avatar of Greed. He'll take it all and not give it back."

"Ah."

"Oi!"

"I am afraid, oh great and mighty Mammon, that the only things of value on me are my new crutches and my clothing … and you are not getting those unless you buy me lunch and replacements first." He went red. 

"I'm gonna eat you, starting from the head and working down-"

"Lay off, Mammon. It's obvious that Lucifer sent you to look after the exchange student."

"I ain't afraid of-"

"No," Gaap said, before pulling a silver syringe from their coat pocket, "I think you're more afraid of getting your jabs." Mammon went pale, spluttering out some vague syllables. Gaap smiled widely. "You're behind on about a decade's worth of them…?"

That shut him up.

** **

“...fucken human. Why'd I gotta do the carryin'?” The mass he was carrying under his arm sighed and looked at him.

“Well how else are you going to transport,” and she raised her hands specifically to make air quotes, “the human you were given.” With a huff, he carried on walking down the road.

She noted, with curiosity, that the buildings were a mish-mash of styles and shapes. The same was easily said of the people. They kept a wary distance from Mammon, but there was little respect in their gazes. In fact, a few were actively licking their lips. 

Mammon looked down at her.

“How'd you break both legs, anyway?”

“You know the ceiling in that courtroom - The Council Chambers? I fell from that.”

“What?”

“Apparently a nice safe landing wasn't an option for my kidnapping.” She huffed and crossed her arms. “Fucking hell. Was it all part of the plan to hobble me so I can't escape?”

“Nah, if it were Lucifer, he'd just chain yo up.”

“I get the feeling he wants to lock me in the attic as soon as I misbehave.” That got a small laugh from Mammon.

“More like string ya from the chandelier or handcuff you to the bed! He's a fucken sadist.”

Her hopes of surviving fell through the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually blown away by the support that people have shown for this story. So, if I do forget to thank you - THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Ophelia had been sitting on the stairs for what she guessed was about half an hour before she finally let out a few tears.

Leviathan, after having put her down in a flustered panic after she was thrown at him, had scurried away. Mammon, who had thrown her at Leviathan as a distraction, had also long since vanished into thin air.

She'd crawled on her hands and knees, the pain intensifying as she went. But, she'd made it to the bottom of the stairs again. That was progress.

And that was where she'd waited patiently. Or at least emotionally. Here she was, in a new and strange land, with injuries that outright made her unable to walk. Not to mention the circumstances in which she'd arrived, the new things she'd discovered, and – Alex. Eventually, she couldn't hold it in any more and just started crying.

Which is when Asmodeus entered the scene, with Solomon in tow.

“...sounds interesting.” As they entered the entrance hall ready to go out again, Asmo having changed into more comfortable clothing, noticed the unusual addition. He and Solomon rushed over to find a sobbing Ophelia.

“Oh, Ophelia, darling! What has that scumbag brother of mine done now?” That made her look up, startled. Ophelia was trembling as the two men approached. Asmo put on his best smile. “Darling, where is Mammon?” There was a glint of recognition in her eyes as she realised that she had seen him before, if only briefly, from _that_ room.

She explained what had happened. Asmo was almost writhing in irritation before Solomon stopped him.

“Mammon was the one to be chosen, to protect her? Well? Are you going to introduce us?”

“And what a poor job it was-” Ophelia shivered at Asmo's near screech, shrinking back a bit. Solomon patted Asmo's arm, and he finally saw why Solomon was trying to stop him. 

Asmo could tell at a glance that her injuries were severe, and she was probably in a traumatised state. She looked ready to either pass out or bolt despite her legs. 

“Oh. Where are my manners?” As he calmly took one of her hands, both to try and ground her and to kiss the back of it softly, he bowed. “I am Asmodeus or Asmo, but please, just call me.” He winked, making a phone gesture with his free hand. Ophelia blinked slowly a few times.

“Ah... I think Gaap may have... told me about you?” Asmo's eyes lit up.

“What did-”

“Gaap told me to hit you with my crutches if you get too handsy.” Asmo deflated slightly, much to Solomon's amusement. Ophelia hummed with thought. “Would I hit such a cutie, though?” That perked Asmo right back up. “But... who's this?”

“I am Solomon. I'm the other human exchange student.” He extended a hand to her, and she took it, giving it a gentle shake. She eyed him wearily.

“That makes it sound like there's more than just humans and demons in this exchange program.”

“Correct. There are Celestial exchange students, too.” Solomon paused, taking in her expression. “You don't seem surprised.” Ophelia sighed.

“It's been that kind of day. I still can't decide if this is all a pain-induced hallucination or if I really did fall into a courtroom of demons in hell.” Asmo laughed.

“Perhaps some groping will-” Ophelia shuddered slightly.

“Please don't. I already groped Lucifer.” Both Asmo and Solomon paused, seemingly shocked. Ophelia held up her hands in surrender. “Only his wing! I only-” Asmo gasped.

“How scandalous! Darling, I need to hear how that came about and why you still live!”

 _Oh I really fucked up_ , she thought.

** **

Gaap's medical report on Ophelia made Lucifer frown. Diavolo shook his head. Along with the obvious physical problems, the neurological issues in the report were a cause for concern.

"And you say that on top of these... discrepancies, she called it a kidnapping?" Lucifer nodded.

"She did. All her disabilities were not on the application, either."

"...this needs more investigation." Diavolo looked at the medical report again. "...Epilepsy? And Migraines?"

"Indeed. The Sacred Disease." Diavolo paused in thought.

"But no magical ability?"

"None according to Gaap." Nodding, Diavolo put the report down on his desk.

“Gaap said she refused the standard treatments for it. I wonder-”

“Apparently, eating the preserved remains of humans – mummies – is almost taboo in modern times. The same with the fresh blood of executed criminals.”

“Despite the ease in which we can get them?”

“Even so. Gaap suggested Devildom Hemp, which bears similarity to Human Realm Cannabis. This, Ophelia, did agree to try, having knowledge of it.” Diavolo nodded again, and Lucifer continued. “Gaap will arrange for delivery of either the dry herb or the infused oil to the house.”

“Gaap seems to be a good fit for the role.”

“Indeed.” Looking again at the report and the copy of the application form, Diavolo shook his head.

“From what you and Gaap have said, it seems that Ophelia may yet prove to be a better fit than anticipated.” Lucifer sighed again.

“We can't actually send her back regardless - until we find out what caused the summoning problem.”

“It would invalidate the treaty if we knowingly put her in further danger.” Diavolo sighed. “I would like to properly greet her and talk this whole situation out with her. Besides, I believe I owe her a massive apology for all of this. Should we...?”

“I told Mammon to take her back to the House of Lamentation, so she should be there.” Diavolo laughed.

“Hopefully. But if she can't walk at the moment, someone may have other plans.”

Much to Lucifer's disappointment, Diavolo was right.

It was as they walked through the town that they heard a fuss around a clothing store. Apparently, Asmodeus was on a shopping spree, with a human as his model. Demons of all varieties were crowding around the window hoping to get a look at the human – and see how the fashionista would dress her. Diavolo couldn't help but laugh, but Lucifer sighed again.

They peered into the window, catching a glimpse of one slightly disgruntled human on a plush stool as an upbeat strawberry blonde demon kept buzzing around her. Behind both of them was a tanned angel laughing, with a small blonde angel looking just as unhappy as the human. Lucifer scowled.

“I assigned Mammon to look after her, so where is he?”

“Now now,” Diavolo said, “Mammon may have had to rush off.” Clapping Lucifer on the shoulder cheerfully, he added. “Let's join them!”

When they finally managed to get in through the crowds, Lucifer could see that as well as the people they'd seen through the window, the other human was there as well. 

_At least_ , Lucifer thought, _I know she has met everyone at Purgatory Hall._

Asmo was pouting, holding up what looked like string. Ophelia was scowling.

“That is not underwear! That's string with delusions of grandeur. If I wanted a pain in the ass, I'd goose myself with my crutches.” Simeon and Solomon couldn't help but laugh.

"Opheeeeeeeeeelliaaaaaaaa..." Asmo attempted to look into her eyes and persuade her. Lucifer noticed from his angle but knew the others might not be able to see what Asmo was up to.

"Definitely not. Let me have bloomers if you must be dramatic about my underwear being more than glorified string." Despite getting a definite lock onto her eyes, Asmo's attempt to mesmerise her had failed.

"Asmodeus!"

** **

The silence between the three was intense. Lucifer, after having politely telling Asmodeus to get Ophelia some more human-comfortable clothing, Diavolo had picked her up like one would a cat and walked out of the store. The size difference was vaguely amusing, if it wasn't the Crown Prince of the Devildom with a small human woman cradled in his arms.

It was Diavolo who broke the silence, either not noticing or caring about the awkwardness.

“Ophelia, you'll have to excuse Asmodeus' zeal. He does love his shopping.”

“And cute food apparently, your highness. Apparently, the macarons at the cafe were so cute he had to post about them...” she said, tentatively. This brought Lucifer to his most worrying thought.

“Where is Mammon? Where could he have run off to?” Ophelia huffed.

“No idea.”

“Surely he-”

“He scarpered pretty quickly after throwing me at Leviathan,” she hummed, “I then got picked up by Asmodeus and Solomon, and we bumped into Simeon and Luke at the cafe.”

“Oh! It sounds like you've had an exciting afternoon.” Diavolo was grinning, but Lucifer was cursing hard internally.

“...yeah.” At her pensive tone, Diavolo stopped. Apparently, he'd just realised or remembered the situation.

“I apologise, Ophelia. I didn't mean-” She shook her head.

“It's fine, your majesty. In most other cases it really would be.” She looked pained but kept her cheerful facade. They remained silent until they reached Lucifer's study, and Diavolo gently placed her on a sofa. Diavolo's gaze turned serious, with Lucifer's following shortly afterwards.

“Now, let's get to business. We have a lot to discuss.”

** **

“He just picked her up like, like a-” Simeon chuckled softly.

“I'm sure Ophelia will be fine, Luke.”

“A human, alone, with Diavolo _and_ Lucifer? They'll eat her alive! Solomon-”

Solomon was distracted by a glowing, transparent moth that had landed on his shoulder. Luke and Simeon could tell that it was a magical messenger. A few moments later, it faded away. Solomon stood up briskly, an unusually serious expression on his face.

“A coven has reported something urgent and disturbing. I've got to go.” Simeon nodded.

“We'll leave your dinner in the fridge. Good luck.” Luke grinned.

“Bring back some pastries, please!” Solomon left briskly, leaving Simeon and Luke on their own.

“Luke...” Simeon gently chastised, “Solomon might not have time to go shopping. Whatever he's been called away for seems serious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is a well-known fact that Egyptian mummies wouldn't be so rare if people hadn't eaten them (or ground them into paint). Along with fresh human blood (as Diavolo mentions - from criminals), these are legitimate old-timey cures for epilepsy. They don't work - unless you count the placebo effect or just the desire to never try it again.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the first time that both Crown Prince Diavolo and the Avatar of Pride Lucifer were flustered and unsure of what to do at exactly the same time.

The cause of this infinitely rare happening was currently sobbing into her knees, having curled up into a tiny ball on the sofa in Lucifer's study. 

In hindsight, they might have seen this coming. There are no easy ways of telling someone that despite all the goodwill in the realm, you've accidentally ripped them from their previous life and thrown them into a dangerous place with no foreseeable hope of return. You can reassure someone that you'll do what you can to keep them safe, but it might be hard for them to believe you.

Diavolo eventually caved and started texting Barbatos frantically. Lucifer was having his own internal crisis, being torn in multiple directions because of his sin – not being able to solve this easily, partially being the cause, looking bad in front of Diavolo, and finally; his own inability to do something. He hated seeing her in distress but seemed unable to move.

It felt like an age before either of the men moved from their spots, Diavolo having received counsel from Barbatos. He rushed to Ophelia, and knelt – knelt! - before her. Gently but determinedly, he prised her arms from their grip around her legs, taking her hands into his before speaking.

“Ophelia...” He edged closer. Her weary eyes were watching him, but the tears had stopped, at least. “You're scared, hurt, and it's overwhelming. I understand.” Diavolo paused to gauge her reaction before continuing. “I promise that we will do everything we can to investigate and solve the matter. I personally promise to make sure you're looked after-”

“Lord Diavolo!” Lucifer, snapped from his thoughts, looked angry. Diavolo sighed, shaking his head.

“It's the right thing to do, Lucifer.” Diavolo turned back to Ophelia. She'd loosened up by the tiniest of amounts. Progress. “And I promise, by fire and brimstone,” he said, solemnly, “that I will do everything in my power to make things right by you.” The words felt heavy in the air. Diavolo saw her eyes focus intently on him.

“...what was that?” she whispered.

“A magical promise,” Diavolo said, gently. “I also promise not to lie to you, and only hope you reciprocate.” She raised her head a bit.

“You can tell when anyone lies to you, can't you? So you don't like to lie, yourself.” His small chuckle confirmed it. She smiled a little. “Someone else I know is like that.”

** **

“You are going to wear a hole in the tiles.” The woman, tired and exasperated, was watching her son pace back and forth across the kitchen tiles. His tea had long since gone cold, sitting next to her refilled mug.

He dug his fingers into the tangled mess of hair on his head, messing it up further.

“...are you sure that-” His mother just huffed tiredly.

“I sent an urgent message to Solomon,” she explained, “I think... no, I know that this is something he'd need to deal with. There's too much at stake.” A glittering in the air announced someone's arrival.

“I'll get it, Mum.” The man dashed off, only to return quickly with another, pale-haired man.

“Wise King Solomon,” the woman said, respectfully, “Shit's gone down.” Solomon nodded sagely.

“Aliss, please, start from the beginning.” Aliss frowned.

“I think I'd better let my boy explain. He was there.” Solomon turned to the man, who sat down. Solomon shook his head.

"What happened, exactly?"

“So, I'd taken her for a short trek...”

Solomon listened intently.

A male witch with a non-magical soulmate. It was a rare enough phenomenon between magical beings, to have a soulmate - let alone a witch with an ordinary human. In fact, this was the first known case for over three hundred years. The belief amongst witches that someone with a soulmate was inherently more powerful had led to wars, in the past. Not to mention the sorcerers and wizards who wanted to intently study them and their bond. The only protection Aliss and her son had from the relentless chase and coven squabbling was the unspoken rule about not revealing magic to ordinary humans.

And now, that key to the peace had been stolen away – how and why, that's what Solomon needed to investigate. Urgently. Was someone stirring trouble in the human realm? At least he knew she was still alive. But for now, Solomon had one question.

“Where's the video you took?”

“...I dropped the camera in the water when I-” He shook his head frantically. “I'm trying to recover the video, but... ah, she's so much better with that kind of thing than I am.” Solomon nodded.

“Keep working on it, and let me know when you're done.” And then, he paused. “You'll both have to keep a low profile and up your defences, but... Aliss, you both may have to go into seclusion again.”

“No.” The son shook his head. “I'm currently running her business in her stead – and it's-”

“Alex,” Aliss said, softly, “We can deal with her Father if need be, and I'm sure she's savvy enough to rebuild it if she needs to. You need to be alive when she's found.”

** **

Ophelia watched, horrified, at the squabbling demons in front of her. Logically she knew that inhuman beings would have scary arguments, but this was… not what she expected. 

Here she was, a stranger in a new land, kidnapped and injured, watching her captors and supposed guardians almost tearing at each other. Mammon was swinging by a rope from the chandelier, whilst the blond demon called Satan was trying to read and letting loose a magical bolt at him whenever he started getting noisy. Asmo was making a fuss over a figure that Leviathan was building and painting in the corner. Lucifer was still talking to Diavolo, and no doubt that when he came back to this scene, there would be more chaos.

A lollipop appeared in her peripheral vision. She slowly turned her head to the source. The red-headed one - Beelzebub - was holding it out to her.

"It's human safe," he said meekly.

"Th-thank you," she said, timidly taking it. He gave her a warm smile.

"You seemed frightened." Beel looked at his brothers, and then at her. "Even lesser demons are scared of our household squabbling." Nodding, she unwrapped the lollipop and tentatively put it in her mouth. A sweet taste, not unlike strawberries flooded her mouth, followed by a floral note. She looked at the wrapper to try and work out the flavour, but couldn't read it. The red cubes were the only hint she had.

"What… what flavour is it?"

"Oh, it's Cuberry." She hummed.

"It tastes great." His smile grew.

“Good. ...are your legs...?”

“My legs?” She looked down at them. “Ah, my legs seem to be a bit better than earlier. Thank you.” He flushed a little.

“I... I noticed when I was carrying you... your thighs...” he started, but then stopped. He'd seen that her expression had paled, and her hand had subconsciously moved to her thigh. But, she knew immediately what he meant.

“Old injuries. Gaap said they won't heal with potions.” She chuckled. “It's why I have crutches. But... they don't hurt - if that's what you're worried about.” Beelzebub nodded happily, opening another pack of crisps. 

“That's good, that it's not painful.” Ophelia couldn't help but smile. And then, a very important question popped into her head.

“So, what should I be looking out for that's human-safe? What should I definitely avoid?” 

Beelzebub's face lit up at the chance to talk about one of his favourite subjects.

** **

“...and you still didn't find anything that may have interfered with the summoning?”

“No.” Lucifer held Ophelia's belt pouches in one hand. He made a note to ask her about the ink. It had held up very well to Barbatos' cleaning attempts. “Whatever charms are on the pen only seem to affect the pen and its holder, nothing else.” Lucifer was already planning to crack the secret of the pen before he handed it back to Ophelia – for some reason, it tickled at him like a scratchy clothing label. Diavolo hummed in thought.

“Then we can't discount... outside interference.” With a sigh, Diavolo pulled out his DDD again. “Which is disconcerting when you consider Solomon reports a serious incident with some covens in the Human Realm. He has suggested that we consider starting the process of having a third human – a witch – as another student.”

“Why?”

“Solomon may be busy with his responsibilities, and apparently this witch may need to be sheltered from other witches.” Lucifer could already feel a headache coming on.

“And Ophelia?” Diavolo laughed.

“Well, she seems to be content enough.” Lucifer sighed angrily.

“I still don't completely agree with the promise you made-”

“At the moment,” Diavolo said pensively, “Ophelia is the least and easiest of our concerns. She's agreed to attend RAD despite what's happened. Double her weekly allowance of Grimm, and add a few thousand more to what's already there. With Solomon going to the Human Realm frequently, anything she sends up should be easy enough for him to forward. Ophelia seems to be fairly easy to placate, and I'm glad.”

“Will it really be that easy?”

“We can but hope.” Diavolo paused. “Besides, she isn't just the responsibility of Mammon. I'm sure between you, me, Purgatory Hall and your brothers, she'll be as safe as she can be.”

“I had to magically tether him to her for the next few days. I'm sure we can cover his duties for that time.” Diavolo laughed.

"That'll be fun to watch!" Lucifer's headache started to grow.

** **

Ungracefully, she slowly crawled along the corridor to the kitchen. She had been told not to walk, but Mammon was asleep on the tiny sofa in her room, and she wanted some water. Despite the fact he was a bit of an ass, she still didn't want to wake him just for some water. At least it didn't hurt to crawl now. Walking probably wasn't that far off.

A scared yell was the only notice she had before a blunt appendage came flying her way. By chance and instinct, she was able to latch onto it. They tried shaking her off, but in her effort to stay on, she kicked her leg out, and-

"GAHHH!" 

_Well that got 'em,_ she thought. 

The person whose leg she was still holding onto started rolling around on the floor. Apparently, she'd made contact with something precious and delicate. 

"What the fuck, human! I thought ya weren't meant ta be walkin'?" She grinned smugly and crawled away. 

"That's why I was crawling, silly." She huffed. "Well, before someone tried to kick me. I didn't want to wake you."

"Ya looked like a crawlin' dremora- And then you kicked-"

"I'm sorry. I'd offer to kiss it better but… you need to buy me a really, _really_ fancy dinner first." Mammon muttered something unintelligible, going a bright crimson. 

Ophelia started crawling towards the kitchen again, and was nearly there when Mammon finally composed himself.

“I should've just eaten ya when I had the chance...” Mammon said, as he scooped her up off the floor and carried her into the kitchen properly. 

“You'd have choked on my crutches.” He set her down on the counter near the sink and went to get a glass. Mammon was surprised that Beel wasn't in the fridge, but it was probably empty already.

“Why didn't ya wake me?” he asked, as he handed her a glass of water.

“It's only a glass of water. Not worth waking you.” She took a sip. It was slightly warm, but she didn't mind. “I'll have to get a water jug or something for my room,” she mused. “What is the time, anyway?” Mammon pulled his DDD out to check.

“Just after 4. Too early for breakfast, an' too late ta sleep again.”

“Speak for yourself,” she quipped.

“Ya won't be sayin' that when RAD starts.” That got her interest. “Breakfast's at seven, classes start at eight. Usually.” She frowned, taking another sip of water.

“How far to RAD from here?”

“About a human mile. Why'd ya-” Setting her water down, she started counting on her fingers.

“It's a long walk for me, and then the lessons themselves, and the walk back... then homework, probably, and chores...” Shaking her head, she continued. “I am... pretty certain I wouldn't be able to do a full day without some serious tweaks to my schedule.” With a sigh, she picked up her glass again.

“Wha- are you defective or somethin'?” She winced. Mammon backpedalled. “No, I- I didn't-”

“Something like that.” She shrugged, trying to play it off. “I suffer from Migraines and Epilepsy, and whatever the fuck gives me fatigue. Not to mention my legs,” she briefly gestured, “which aren't particularly strong and will only add to the fatigue if I'm not careful.”

“I- Didn't know-” He couldn't look at her, but she shuffled nearer to him and patted his head gently. 

“Well, then aren't I lucky to have the Great Mammon assigned to look after disabled old me.”

“Y-yeah.” He perked up again. “Yeah! Only the Great Mammon could be good enough to look after a crippled human.” She decided to let that slide for now.

"I guess you take turns making breakfast in this house, right? What's usually on the menu?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ophelia's pen is... not quite lost. And we get to see what's starting to happen back in the human realm... while Ophelia suddenly finds Mammon's weak spots. And Beel, ever the observant sweetheart, knows something his brothers don't.
> 
> And she still hasn't gotten her DDD yet.
> 
> This is actually the last of the chapters I have that are in order and written out, so it could be time yet before the next update.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates... randomly. Tags: updated as I go, for spoiler reasons.
> 
> I mean, it would be a bold assumption if you think my dossing off writing is going to be any more regular than the main fanfic that I use to doss off actual work, wouldn't it?


End file.
